Six men to appear in India court over gang-rape of Swiss tourist

Source:AFP Published: 2013-3-19 0:33:01

Indian policemen escort gang rape suspects to court in Datia, about 75 kilometers from Gwalior in the central Madhya Pradesh state, on Monday. Six men appeared in court Monday over the gang-rape and robbery of a Swiss cyclist holidaying in India, an assault which has rekindled alarm about the safety of tourists and rising sex crimes. Photo: AFP

Six men were due to appear in court on Monday over the gang-rape and robbery of a Swiss cyclist holidaying in India, an assault which has raised alarm about the safety of tourists and rising sex crimes.

"We have detained all the six persons and they will be produced before the magistrate after lunch today. We will ask for a police remand for five days for all of them," M.L. Dhody, a local police official in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, told AFP.

Five of those arrested, all farmers in their twenties, were paraded in front of television cameras in the state late on Sunday. A sixth man was detained in a neighboring state overnight and brought back to the remote district of Datia, about 400 kilometers south of New Delhi, where the men will be produced before a local magistrate.

Only four of them will be charged with gang-rape, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years, because testimony from the 39-year-old Swiss victim said two of them were "only present at the crime scene," Dhody said.

All the men face robbery charges as police say the group stole a laptop, a mobile phone and 10,000 rupees ($185) from the victim and her husband.

"The six of them have confessed to their roles in the crime," Dhody said.

The confessions will likely be inadmissible as evidence during the trial because Indian law treats such statements to police as inherently unreliable.

The couple have "expressed their readiness to fully cooperate in the ongoing investigation and identification process. They will continue to stay in India for the moment," a Swiss embassy statement said on Monday.